The Assassin's Daughter
by yo-soy-tu-guminola
Summary: A girl named Shalott is supposed to become an assassin like everyone else in her family. She doesn't really like that idea. Will she be forced to become a savage killer?
1. Chapter 1

The Assassin's Daughter

I'm Emma. Well that's not my real name. My birth name is Shalott. I'm the Lady of Shalott like in that old poem about a girl locked in a tower. But we are very different. Or are we? I guess we're alike in one way. We are both cursed by dark power. But I'll get into that later. I'm 12 years old. Now I live in America with my Aunt Jackie. It's just the two of us in this small apartment in New York. She looks nothing like me. She looks very Japanese. I look like me. I'm sort of a cross between Japanese and English. Aunt Jackie says I get all of my looks from my father. My hair is dark black, silky, and the straightest straight you've ever seen. I'm constantly brushing my long side-bangs out of my dark blue eyes. Aunt Jackie says I should put it up but I hate it like that. I always wear my hair down. When I wear short sleeves and shorts people always comment that I have an extremely wiry body for a girl my age. I'm tall and have long fingers. I have 20/20 vision and no need for glasses. I have strong bones and a healthy diet. My grandmother on my dad's side says that I have the body of a perfect assassin. She's like that. So are my mother, father, and two older brothers. They tend to freak normal people out with their words and appearances. My whole family's skin (including mine) is abnormally pale. Our eyes are either too bright or depressingly dark and stand out. No gray. Just black or white. I haven't seen anyone in my family, except Aunt Jackie, in 10 years. Not even my parents. They only send letters 3 times a year. In their last letter, they said that I'm going to come to live with them in London. I don't really want to go to live with my family. We hold a dark secret that I don't want to get involved with. My brothers will probably boss me around all because I'm younger. Also in my family, girls aren't treated quite the same as men. If girls don't obey the men, we're in big trouble. My family lives in this ultra, mega, huge mansion. Some people say that some of our maids got lost and were never found again. But who believes in that kind of stuff? I've got another bit of gossip to tell you. Some say that our mansion is haunted. I don't blame them. It was built as a perfect home for an 18th century assassin. It is very dark on the inside and outside. No sound comes from it. No one comes in nor out. People walking by feel exposed and fearful. Young children sometimes start to cry when they get close. Everyone avoids it at night. But I'm not scared of it. I lived there until I was 2 and still have some memories of its long, dark hallways and unnervingly gloomy ball rooms. I remember my eldest brother's evil smile. His name is Devin. His hair is light brown. He is the most secretive and least talkative person in England. My other brother's name is Tom. I remember his fair blonde hair and wide eyes. They are a very light blue, the exact opposite of mine. We are both tall. He looks like Mom and is her favorite. Devin is Dad's favorite. I wander what they look like now that they've grown. My mom always wears smart clothes like everyone else in my family. Turtlenecks and long sleeves all year. Tight dresses and skirts for girls, long pants for boys. High heels for girls and shiny dress shoes for the boys. No one wears bright colors in that dreaded mansion. We all wear solid colors. I don't really remember my father. When I was young, he had nothing to do with me. So why does he want me back all of the sudden? I probably won't ever find out. Right now Aunt Jackie is telling me to hurry up. I grab my heavy suitcase full of all of my belongings and run to the door where she is waiting for me.

I step off of the plane to see many crowds of

people walking around. They are all talking in English accents. We are at the airport in England. I see a man dressed in all black and assume he is here to pick me up and take me to my family. I say goodbye to Aunt Jackie. Her eyes are filled with tears. She hugs me and kisses me on the cheek. We bid goodbye and I walk over to the man in black. "Hello Miss Shalott. My name is Bryce. I shall be taking you to your home." he says. His voice is heavy with an accent. I look blankly at him and say "Hi". I hate anyone who calls me Shalott. He takes my bags and leads me to an old car. We get in. It is a long and silent ride to the mansion. As we get out Bryce says "I will be taking your things to your room, Miss Shalott." I already miss Aunt Jackie. I have a feeling that I'll never be called Emma again. The gates creek as Bryce opens them. I follow him solemnly to the door. He turns the doorknob and pushes the door open. Inside I see a dark hallway. It is going to swallow me up with darkness. I take a deep breath and follow Bryce inside. A woman that appears to be a maid walks up to us. She looks aged and has gray hair "Hello Miss Shalott. I am Helen. Welcome home. Shall I bring you to see your family?" she says. Bryce leaves to put my bags in my room. I hope my family will accept what I'm wearing. I'm wearing an Evanescence T-shirt and jeans with holes. My sandals are black though. That's a start. And Evanescence is a sort of dark band. But my family probably only listens to classical music if any at all. Oh well. I follow Helen down several long hallways. We end up in a humongous library. I bet Devin can be found here. I am right. A young man about the age of 20 stands up from a desk in the corner. He has light brown hair and a straight face. When he sees me, he smiles. I remember that smile all too well. "It's nice to see you again, my dear little sister. It's been _so_ long. We've missed you." he says. I hate him. What he had just said was all lies. When he smiles, he is planning to do something to you. Normally the thing he does to you hurts you in at least one way. I smile a fake smile. "I'm glad to be with you again." I lie. I look at the book he is reading. I am not surprised to see that the book is titled "Poisons from Around the World" Devin sees me staring at the book and chuckles. I look away so he won't see the fear in my eyes. Devin specializes in poisoning people. My father is very proud of him. I fear he might poison my food one day. "Feel free to explore this library once you have the time." Devin says. I nod. "I suppose you'll be wanting to see the rest of the family." he says and goes back to reading. He is quite a bookworm. Helen and I go up some stairs and down some more hallways. How am I going to find my way around this place alone? I notice that there aren't a lot of windows in this gloomy mansion. People here must not get a lot of vitamin D and can't absorb calcium well. Poor them. The lack of sun light explains their depressed attitudes and pale skin. Maybe they take vitamins to stay healthy. I am so busy thinking about this that when Helen stops in front of a door, I almost run into her. She knocks and a woman's voice calls out "Come in" I think it is my mother's voice. I am correct. My mother turns around and sees me. Her eyes widen and she smiles. She embraces me and kisses my forehead like Aunt Jackie. She finally lets go and looks at me. She is wearing a ton of makeup. Her blonde hair is long and wavy. She is wearing a tight, black dress. It looks Japanese. She is from Japan. Her accent makes that obvious. "I've missed you so much, my darling baby girl." she says and hugs me again. "I missed you too." I half-way lie. I missed her, but not enough to really think about it. She looks into my eyes and smiles. "Well if you need anything just ask. Feel free to explore, but don't get lost. I'll see you later darling." she says and Helen and I leave the room. We go up some more stairs and go down more hallways. "I think Master Tom is in his room. Let's check." Helen says and knocks on a door. This time she doesn't wait for an answer. She opens the door. It is extremely dark inside the room. A single oil lamp lights the large room. The flame flickers even though there is no wind. "Master Tom, your sister has come." Helen says. I turn my attention to a blonde teenager with bright blue eyes lying on his bed. He is staring at the ceiling without blinking. He turns his head toward me. He doesn't smile. He just stares. I feel uncomfortable with his stare boring into me. He sighs. "So much for my nap." His nap? His nap?!? Is that all he cares about? Rude! He is dressed in black from head to toe. He is still wearing his shoes. Why wear your shoes if you're taking a nap? My younger brother has always been on the strange side. I get bored of him and let my eyes wander. The room is totally made of brick. The flame in the lantern still flickers. I see a window with closed, black curtains. Tom seems to keep his belongings elsewhere, for I cannot see any personal items. I think I see the outline of a door. I look closer. I can't see it. My eyes are playing tricks on me. I'm not used to such darkness. I jump and my heart climbs to my throat. I see that Devin has opened the door and come to stand next to me without making the slightest sound whatsoever. How did he do that? Usually no one and I mean no one can ever sneak up on me ever. I can hear people's footsteps 70 paces away. I know it's weird, but my whole family is that way. "Tom, may I borrow a knife of some kind?" Devin asks his brother. "No. But I'm curious why you would want one." he answers blankly, not even looking at him. "Wait, let me guess, you want to cut open some strange fruit and then put bane in sissy's food. I can read you like a book. And why couldn't you just get a knife from the kitchen." he continues. Devin smiles. He'll never give up. "Well you see I just wanted to use a knife covered in blood." he says and walks out the door. Have you guessed yet? Every person in my family is an assassin of some sort. Of course Devin poisons people. Tom welds all kinds of knives, kards, and daggers. My mother strangles people in certain ways. My father specializes in every art of assassination there is. I suppose I am here to master the art of murder. I don't think I'll be enjoying my stay at all, but I know better than to complain. It might cost me my head. I am ashamed of my heritage, but I can't help it. I've learned to live with my family's dark secret. My family hasn't been outside of this haunted mansion ever since Devin was born. Every child in this household goes through gruesome and painful training to become a full-fledged assassin by 18 at the most. Both of my brothers soared right through training and were assassins by the age of 12. I'm 12. I'm expected to become a savage killer within 3 years. I don't think I can do it. If the want me to be like them, then why did they send me to America to live with Aunt Jackie, who has left her horrid ways behind? I will never know the answer to many questions as long as I'm living with my father. As long as I'm living with my mother, I will always wear fancy clothes. As long as I live with Devin, I will always be on alert. As long as I live with Tom, I will be in a controlled environment. But I will make the best of it all. I will live with it. I might not ever laugh again, but I'll make it somehow. I've felt like this my whole life. Tom seems to be able to read me like a book too, for he says "Don't worry. You'll get used to it soon enough." I look at him. He seems to care. But things aren't always as they seem. Yet there is something about him. Something says he wants to be a good brother to me. He wants to care. He just can't. He was raised to be like this. He was taught to fight for himself and for no one else. But something about him screams that he wants to be my friend. Something… I can't help but to smile warmly at him. He looks surprised, but smiles back. It is a wonderful smile. He does care. I want to stay with him, but I must see my father. "See ya later." I say to Tom. He gets a look on his face that says "I've never heard anyone say 'ya' before." Helen takes me out into the hall and shuts Tom's door. "I'm afraid that your father cannot see you now. I'm sure you'll see him at dinner. Your room is to the right of Master Tom's. Feel free to explore the gardens or ball rooms or anywhere you like. If


	2. Chapter 2

you should need or want anything, just ask the help. We are at your service Miss Shalott." she says and leaves me to do as I please. I open the door to my room. It creeks slightly. Inside I see a large bed with black sheets and a black comforter. There are soft, fluffy pillows. Drapes are hung elegantly over the bed. The whole room is made of brick, just Like Tom's. There is a vanity in one corner. A desk is in another. I see that Bryce has put my bag on my bed. I start unpacking. I take out my ipod. I turn it on, put my earphones in and start playing my favorite song. It is "Imaginary" by Evanescence. I slip my ipod into my pocket and continue to unpack. I take some of my clothes out and walk to the closet. I put my clothes up and sing along with the song. "In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullabies I lie inside myself for hours and watch my purple sky fly over me." I sing softly to myself. I begin to close the closet door, but stop when I think I see a door. I look closer. It_ is_ a door! I put my hand on the doorknob. Then I hesitate. I should use caution while living in this house. I slowly open the door. I see a single lit oil lamp. I also see a blonde teenager with bright blue eyes staring at me. "So… AWESOME!" I yell in excitement. "Was there really a need to scream?" Tom asks, lifting an eyebrow. "Well, it's awesome." I say and pull my earphones out. Tom seems as if he's never even seen earphones before. He probably hasn't. He's never been to the outside world. Poor him. "If you like secret doors and things, there are tons more around here." Tom says. He gets up from his bed and opens the curtains. Light streams in and I am very grateful for it. "Will you show me around?" I ask him. "Why don't you get someone else?" "Because I want to spend time with you" I answer. He looks at me. He is surprised. I smile at him. There is a long silence, but after a while, he smiles back. Suddenly, the curtains are closed, as if someone wants to get them shut quickly. But Tom wasn't the one doing it. Neither was I. I scream. Tom whirls around. But he is not scared. "Well that wasn't very polite. There's no need to get angry at Shalott. What has she done to you?" he says to what seems to be thin air. Is my brother insane? Did his curtains get mad at me? (O.O So scary!) It suddenly gets very cold in the room. The flame in the lamp flickers furiously and goes out. What is going on? I shiver, but I don't know if it's from the cold or if I am afraid. I feel something brush against my right arm. I gasp and come closer to Tom. Something is here. I know it. I can feel its anger. I can barely see in the darkness. "How about instead of scaring your sister, you introduce yourself to her." Tom says again to thin air. The air becomes literally thin. Since when did I have three siblings? Why is Tom talking to it like they're friends? I am so very confused. "Come on now, show yourself. Don't be so difficult." Tom says. Then something begins to glow a ghastly blue-green color. It is an outline of a person. (O_o Oh my!) As it becomes clearer, I see that it is a little girl. She is about 4 or 5. She is wearing a white dress and white sandals. Her hair is pulled into two cute piggy tails with white ribbons. (Oink oink!) Her eyes are dark and depressing. Her mouth is fixed into a dark frown. Her arms are behind her back. Her whole body is glowing. She is frightening. She is a ghost. I am struck speechless. So this house _is_ haunted. Is this the only thing haunting this awful place? Does she hate me? I think I'm going to faint. To make it even worse, the ghost speaks. "I go by the name of Samantha. I am one of the many ghosts haunting this mansion. I am your long-gone sister. What do you go by?" she says. Her voice echoes all around me. What does she mean by long-gone sister? I've never had a sister. Many ghosts? She has a name? Oh, boy. "I call myself Emma. But that's not my real name. My real name is Shalott." I stammer, still scared by her. "Shalott… I like that name. I like all Old English names. Doesn't Shalott mean Land of Astolat? I simply love Alfred Tennyson's poem about a girl named Shalott. Why do you call yourself Emma? Shalott is such a unique and beautiful name." Samantha says. What a mouthful. Suddenly, she is no longer frightful. "I call myself Emma because…because" I say. She has made me think. "What are names anyway? They are only made to distinguish you from others. The more unique name you have, the better the name serves its purpose. But names don't define you. Isaac means "He will laugh". A boy named Isaac might not ever laugh in his life. Just like you. Just because you are called Shalott, doesn't mean that you are from the Land of Astolat. You are not defined by your name. My name means "Flower". I am most certainly not a flower. I am the living-dead. I do not _let _my name define me. Tom doesn't let his name define him. Thomas means "Twin". He's not even a Gemini. He's a Leo. I'm Cancer. What are you?" she says. I can tell that she likes to talk, but changes subjects easily. "Uhhh… I think I'm Pisces. I'm pretty sure that's right." I answer. "That sounds about right. You won't admit it but, you're always wanting to care about others more than you care about yourself. You live in an imaginary world and can spend all day gazing dreamily out of an open window and feeling a light breeze on your face." Samantha says dreamily. How does she know that? "Are you a mind reader?" I ask almost scared again. "Well, it's very obvious that you're a dreamer." she replies. She seems innocent, but I'm not so sure. "All you have to do is look into a person's eyes to see their personality or even their whole life story. Your eyes never seem to be in the real world. And anyway you were listening to a song about candy clouds and lullabies." Tom adds. I had forgotten he is standing right next to me. Has he been staring into my eyes and gathering information about me? Will he use this information against me? This is slightly creepy. "Well now that that horrid window is closed and I've introduced myself, I think I'll let Tom give you the grand tour. I suppose I'll be seeing you later." Samantha says. As she fades slowly away, I suddenly remember something. What does she mean by long-lost sister? But she is gone. I'll see her later. Now I guess I'll go roaming around this place with Tom. Things happen so quickly. "C'mon now. Don't stand there looking like a fool." Tom says and walks quickly out of the door. Or is he jogging? He's fast. I run to catch up with him. "Where are we going?" "Where do you want to go?" My stomach growls. I tell it to shut up and answer Tom's question. "Let's go to the kitchen." I say and grab a half-eaten granola bar out of my pocket. I eat it happily. "Want some?" I ask and shove it in Tom's face. I remember how I love to annoy my brothers so much. When I was little, I remember climbing up onto one of my brother's laps and acting cute. Then when Mother left the room, I would pull their noses off and rip out their hair. And if I was actually mad at them, I would scream at the top of my lungs and kick them. But if they got mad at _me_ for getting them in trouble with the adults, I would forgive them for whatever they did and give them a big hug and kiss. But I would show no mercy if someone took my brothers away from me. When Mother put Tom to bed to take a nap, I would throw a fit if she didn't let me crawl into bed with him. If Devin left the room, I would totter after him along with my teddy bear. My teddy bear is EVIL! When I wake up in the morning, he is sitting up against the wall, staring at me with those beady eyes. And he used to make a mess of my room and I would get in trouble. But he is still my best friend. (Flashback is now over.) Tom looks me like I'm a strange alien girl and shakes his head. I shrug. His loss. I no longer want any of my half-eaten granola bar when I smell the many wonderful aromas of a kitchen. The food smells great! "When is dinner?" I ask eagerly. "We usually have a fairly late dinner, but you can probably get a snack when you meet the chef." Tom answers. I become even more anxious. I grab him by his wrist and start running towards the smells. Mmmm so good! I can see the hustle and bustle of a five-star kitchen. My stomach growls, but I don't care. I am in a trance. Suddenly I hear a booming voice. "Well look who it is! Hello there, my beautiful young mistress. I suppose you are here to observe and maybe do a little taste testing?" it calls out to me. It belongs to a stout little man who is wearing a chef's hat. His chef's outfit is covered in all kinds of sauces and seasonings. His neatly combed hair is black. He seems to be in charge of the kitchen. I nod to answer his question. "Maybe the young lady would like to skip straight to desert so can get on with her tour?" he says. I nod to answer his question. "Maybe the young lady would like to skip straight to desert so can get on with her tour?" he says. Now this is my kind of guy! He sees someone fooling around in a corner and hurries off to scold him. "That's Pierre. He's the head chef." Tom says. Pierre comes back to us and apologizes to Tom for letting his staff fool around when they had a very important job to do. Tom nods. We follow Pierre to a huge, gleaming pot. I can recognize that smell anywhere! It's chocolate! Beside the pot of boiling chocolate is a humungous tray of one of the best things in the world. Chocolate-covered strawberries!!! (*drool and eyes turn googely*) The strawberries are huge, not the tiny ones you find at Kroger. (No offense Kroger. Shnucks has small strawberries too.) They look so juicy and sweet! The chocolate will make them even sweeter! "Yo, when's dinner?!?" I scream at Tom. He flinches and says "Again, was there really any reason to scream _again_?!?" Tom screams back. "You're screaming too!" "Only because you were screaming!" "Well that's no reason to scream!" Tom's face turns as red as one of those delicious strawberries. He gives me an evil glare so frightening that if I didn't know better, I would think he is going to tackle me right then and there. I back off and say "OK Tommy, you win. Just take a chill pill." Oh no! I forgot! Tom's eyes widen and he clinches his fists. I take a step back, ready to run for my life. Tom is shaking with anger. Pierre knows better than to try to calm him down when he's this angry. Tom lunges at me. I take off. _NEVER EVER _call Tom Tommy. He'll go into assassin mode and try to strangle you until you're blue. Then he'll let you gulp for air and then he'll strangle you again until you beg for your life. But since I'm his sister and he hasn't seen me in a while, maybe he'll just wrestle me to the ground. Or maybe he'll torture me even more. I scream and run for the exit. But where is it?! This kitchen is too big! I dodge many people making fancy food of all kinds. I only run into a few. There are many knives and sharp objects everywhere. Basically anything here can be used as a weapon. Tom should be in heaven. I am afraid to look behind me. Tom is older and stronger than me. He has more stealth, experience, and stamina than me. But worst of all, he has much more speed and skill than me. And when it comes to throwing things, he has more accuracy. I mean after all, he's a trained assassin. I'm doomed. Hide me! But wait a second. I do have _one_ advantage! I'm lighter than him. But than again he's kinda on the skinny side, but he's still more heavily-built than me. Bwahahaha! I feel like an evil genius. Now I know how Devin feels. I come back to earth when I almost run into a flaming stove. It's an old stove. Even this stupid kitchen is obsolete! So back to planning while running. How can I use my advantage? I skid to a halt when I hear something whizzing past my head. A fork hits a wall all the way across the kitchen. I almost cry. That was a few centimeters from my head! What would've happened if it had hit its target? I turn around slowly to see Tom. "Please don't hurt me." I say in a scared, squeaky voice. Tom doesn't move. "I'll give you a hug." I say, holding my arms out towards him. He's not very impressed. "Come on hugs make _everything_ better." I say in a weak attempt to calm him.


End file.
